Dance Macabre
by KingZhongmou
Summary: The Savage-Blake family gets caught up in psychopath Will's twisted plan which threatens to destroy many village residents' lives. Freddie Roscoe's love and loyalty for Lindsey Butterfield is put to the test when they get caught up in a deadly scheme while two enemies go head to head in a devastating war. Who will survive and who will die when the village becomes a battlefield?
1. An Alternate Path

**Dance Macabre**

**Author's Note:** The stories of several characters intertwine so there is not one single protagonist, but various ones, over the course of several different stories being told. This also contains an alternative ending to Will's storyline. In this version, neither Dodger, Martha or Dennis suspected Will was a murderer and so he continued to live his life out without being sussed out as a killer. Some changes you may notice is that Patrick and Maxine are no longer together because he never resolved his issues with Dodger and so he broke up with her.

**Dance Macabre  
Chapter I - An Alternate Path**

Dodger leant towards the window to see Patrick heading towards the boat. Maxine walked into the kitchen wrapped up in a duvet. Patrick had reached the door and knocked twice in the time it took Dodger to run into the kitchen and place a finger on his lips as a sign not to speak. After waiting a short while, Dodger opened the door to see his father's back turned to him. Hearing the sound of the door open, Patrick pivoted around and nodded his head at his son.

"Hey, Patrick," Dodger rested his left hand against the door to shield his father's vision.

"I was just checking to see if everything is okay," Patrick said, with a false smile.

"Yeah, everything is fine," Dodger smiled back before looking to the ground in a tense moment of awkwardness.

"Sienna's filled me in that Dirk's having a little family trip," Patrick told him, his eyes unable to look at his son. "Dirk's allowed her to come. I hope that's okay with you."

"Yeah," Dodger nodded his head and sighed. "Course it is."

Patrick nodded his head again to signal the end of the conversation. He turned around to walk away when he heard his son take a few footsteps towards him.

"Look, Patrick," Dodger called him back. "You can always come with us, you know that?"

"I'll sleep on it."

"Don't you wanna know how Max is doing?" Dodger blurted, his arms outstretched.

"Not particularly, no," Patrick replied coldly, before looking down at the ground upon realising the harshness of his words. "No, sorry, yes. Forgive me. How is she?"

"Not good," Dodger answered. "She needs you."

"Well that ship has long since sailed off, Mark," Patrick responded, turning around to walk away again. "It looks like she's found herself a new one."

Dodger took a deep breath as his father wandered away. Before he could close the door, he could hear the loud and distinctive voice of Dirk and the shrill sound of his sister Sienna's laughter. He peered out to see the pair walk towards Patrick. The three stood still on the pathway and looked at each other. Dodger decided to approach them while Maxine followed sheepishly, having discarded the duvet and covering herself up with some robes.

"It's nice to see you so happy," Patrick said monotonously, glaring at his daughter. "Make sure you look after her, Dirk."

"We've been talking," Dirk grinned. "Sienna says she reckons you'll look dapper in some fishing kit. There's a place for you on this trip too since Lib's not coming."

"I'll pass," Patrick mumbled.

Dodger and Maxine reached the conversation.

"I'm not taking no for an answer," Dirk stated boldly, stretching his arm out to preventing him from passing. "Now, I've invited Martha and her Lacey to join us, and Sienna's already taken the liberty in packing your bags for you."

"And speaking of Liberty," Dodger grinned.

"Hello, Dad!"

Liberty stumbled across the planks of the pathway in her high heels, followed swiftly by two young men behind her. The man on her left was a tall, blonde man with pale skin and deep blue eyes. The man on her right was a shorter, dark haired man with darker skin and hazel eyes. He strongly resembled Dodger in many ways, except he was dressed terribly. Dodger took pride in his dress sense, always making sure that whatever he wore, he wore it in style. This man appeared as if he had chosen his own clothes from a charity store. His shirt was dirty and his trainers were battered.

"Hello, darlin'," Dirk smirked, hugging his youngest child. "How's my little girl?"

"Dad!"

Liberty pulled herself away as if she was embarrassed, giving him a glare. Dirk frowned back.

"Nice to see ya, Lib!" Will said, as he made his way towards his family with his crutches.

"Will!" Liberty gave him a big smile, running to her brother and hugging him. "Look, you're walking again! You look wonderful!"

"Ah thanks, so do you, Lib!" Will smiled, and kissed her on the cheek.

"Dodger, Dad, Will, I want you to meet Alex!" she giggled, pointing towards the darker toned man. "He's my boyfriend!"

Dirk and Dodger looked towards the man. Maxine squinted, looking at Alex then at Dodger then back at Alex before snorting. Dodger caught her glances and frowned at her, but Dirk and Sienna began laughing out loud. Liberty and Dodger looked serious.

"What's funny?" Liberty asked them.

"Yeah, Dad, what's funny?" Dodger demanded.

"Nothing, son," Dirk laughed, patting Dodger on his back and walking away from them all. "Not a thing. Come on, guys, I think it's about time we got a move on, don't you?"

**Dance Macabre**

"Get off me!" he shouted aloud, as the police officers dragged him towards the cell. "Get off me now! Get your dirty hands off me!"

A few convicts turned their heads to look at the new meat being dragged through the corridors of the cells. Four officers were escorting two men; the first being a tall, rugged man with a shaved head and a venemous glare, while the second was a skinny African-American kid with a grey hoody and tracksuit bottoms on. The kid was trying to resist the officers but the older man was clearly walking with acceptance of the crimes he had committed.

"Adebayo, Anthony, aged twenty-two, cell one-six-three," the officer stated.

"I shouldn't be here!" he shouted out. "They set me up! Get off me, they set me up!"

Anthony pleaded as he was dragged away by the officers.

"Royle, Trevor, aged twenty-eight, cell one-seven-two."

* * *

**Dance Macabre (Coming up...)**

"Don't push your luck, princess," he breathed down the neck of his terrified victim. "Women like you get killed everyday by men like him. If you wanna learn the ropes to this world, you learn 'em from me."

"You've gotta believe me, you've really gotta," she begged in tears. "He's evil. Pure evil."

"No... Don't do this..." she pleaded, black tears running down her eyes, as she felt her breath being slowly sucked away from her.


	2. In Return

**Dance Macabre  
Chapter II - In Return**

The distinctive smell of crispy bacon made its way around the house. The sound of footsteps charging down the stairs could be heard as they fought their way towards the kitchen. As soon as they entered, there was a painful silence as they all stared with sorrow at the sight of Sandy shaking the frying pan in front of her. She was humming along to a song playing on her MP3 player and slowly dancing as she played with the pan. Fraser, Sandy's boyfriend, was sitting at the table looking at the piece of bacon on his plate with guilt and regret consuming his face. Sandy, oblivious to most of her clan standing at the door of the kitchen, turned to Fraser before dancing towards him. She eventually reached him and leaned down towards him. Fraser turned his head to give her a kiss, but the emotion never left his face. He was still horrified at what was in front of him.

"Fraser, what's up, sweetheart?" Sandy asked, noticing the look on his face.

"Nothing, darling," Fraser responded, before turning to the door to see Joe, Freddie, Ziggy and Robbie standing at the door.

"Looks good, Mum," Jason lied through his teeth, as he lifted one of the many slices of toast off a plate and bit into it. "Tastes the same."

Jason hurried away from the kitchen table and spat the contents of his mouth into the sink.

"How do you screw up toast?" Robbie asked his mother, frowning with disappointment.

Freddie elbowed Robbie in his ribs. As Robbie wallowed in pain, Sandy turned to her sons and gave them a glare. Joe quickly entered, followed by Ziggy and Freddie, and they began to take bites out of separate pieces of toast. Freddie held it close to his mouth but saw that it was completely coated in black. He paused and tried to bite it, but it wouldn't break. He removed the toast from his mouth and left the room.

"Gotta go, I'm busy, Mum," Freddie excused himself.

"Freddie!" she moaned before smiling. "Oh, well, that's even more for the rest of you then."

"Err..." Joe looked at Freddie, envious that he managed to escape fast enough. "Sure, Mum."

"Nope, not me," Ziggy shook his head as soon as he felt the bitter taste of the disgustingly burnt toast. "I've gotta get to the garage. We're opening up early this morning."

"Yeah," Joe turned around as soon as Ziggy left. "Nearly forgot, Zig, thanks for reminding me."

Sandy raised her eyebrow at Joe, who caught this gesture. Joe paused and turned back to her.

"Paperwork, Mum, there's loads," Joe nodded, before bolting out.

"Ah, yeah," Jason looked at Robbie and then at the toast. "I have to do an essay for my coursework. Sorry, maybe you and Robbie can share it."

"Nah, Mum, I can't, I've gotta go," Robbie tried to think of an excuse.

"What do you possibly have to do?" Sandy demanded as Robbie and Jason stood at the door.

"Err..." Robbie panicked. "Coursework?"

"Yeah," Jason added. "It takes a couple hours and its in for tomorrow. I have to do so much things for the essay, you won't even believe!"

"I believe you," Sandy surrendered. "But Robbie, you only have to do two things to finish_ your_ essay. One's copy and the other's paste, so get back in here and take a seat next to Fraser."

"Mum!" Robbie rebutted.

"Don't make me have to ask twice, Robert," Sandy raised her voice, turning back to the bacon. "Now eat your breakfast!"

**Dance Macabre**

Dirk, although he was driving the rented eight-seater car, was munching away at a Big Mac meal. Will was right beside his father, eating his chips in groups of five, while repeatedly adjusting his glasses every time he had to look down to dip his chips in the ketchup. Martha, Patrick, Lacey and Tom, the tall, blonde friend of Liberty, were squashed into the middle row of the car while Sienna was in the back with Dodger and Maxine. Dodger and Maxine were sharing a Smarties McFlurry, with Dodger feeding it to her on a spoon before licking the ice cream off her lips. Martha was fast asleep and the presence of Patrick between her and Alex allowed her to flirt with Alex continuously over the course of the journey, occasionally moving her hand to his crotch but laughing it away as a joke. Patrick looked depressed and angry with Dodger, as every time he looked into the rear view mirror he could see his son and his ex-girlfriend kissing or playing about. Sienna also had the same annoyed look on her face.

"Is everyone strapped in?" Dirk asked.

Dodger looked at Dirk with a strange look.

"We've been driving for near enough an hour and you only ask now?" Dodger laughed.

"Food first, safety after," Dirk grinned as he popped the remainder of his Big Mac into his mouth.

"Typical Dad," Will laughed, before crunching on some more food. "You're not wrong though!"

"I have a good feeling about this week," Dirk said cheerfully, as if he was about to make a speech, but he noticed that Dodger and Maxine were now kissing passionately.

"Oh, get a room," Sienna huffed, flicking her head to face the window in a bout of anger and jealousy.

"What's up with you?" Dodger asked as soon as Maxine managed to let him free of their kiss. "Why are you so moody?"

"Nothing," Sienna shook her head, uncomfortably, a whirlwind of panicked thoughts sprinting to her mind. "Just that time of the month I guess."

Dodger nodded his head with a small smile on his face. He knew that his sister was lying and that something was up. He could just tell. It was part of him being her twin brother. He whispered something to Maxine, and the two then switched places so that Dodger was in the middle and next to Sienna now. Dodger placed a hand on her knee but she quickly swept it off and turned back to face the other way. She moved her hand to her shirt and unbuttoned the top four buttons, before adjusting it slyly so that it would reveal a good deal of her cleavage.

"You okay, babe?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Mark," she smiled, before turning back to face him and nodding her head, placing her hands between her knees and trying to squeeze her breasts with her arms so that they would appear bigger.

Dodger smiled before turning back to Maxine. Sienna was shocked. Not once did Dodger even look at her cleavage before he turned back to Maxine and began feeding her more ice cream. In a strop, she span back to face the window. As Lacey and Tom were in flirt mode, Dodger and Maxine were messing about, Martha and Patrick were fighting sleep and Dirk was driving, Sienna had hoped that nobody had seen any of her attempt to seduce him. The sound of Will chewing loudly on a chicken nugget forced her to look in his direction. Will seemed to be completely oblivious to the world, finding solace with his chips, but as Sienna turned back to the window once more, Will looked up at the rear view mirror and smirked.

**Dance Macabre**

Trevor found himself sitting at a table staring into terrible prison food while everyone around him continued their lives as if they were at a school rather than a prison. He managed to finish his meal without being spoken to before he stood up and carried his tray quietly towards the corner of the room where the cleaners piled up the trays and plates. As he turned around, he bumped into another man, who as a result fell backwards and dropped his tray. For a moment, time froze. Trevor looked down at the food before looking back up again and seeing the man staring at him.

"Sorry," Trevor said. "You got in my way."

The man punched Trevor in his face without speaking a word and immediately everyone roared into chaos. People surrounded the two and chanted for them to fight. As Trevor decided not to fight his opponent, he attempted to exit the encirclement.

"Move, please," he said to one of the men blocking his path. "I won't ask again."

The man pushed Trevor backwards towards the man who had punched him. Trevor instantly flipped as soon as he saw the man lunge at Trevor a second time. Trevor's quickly grabbed the man blocking his path and threw him towards the attacker's fist. The man punched the other man to the ground, busting his lip, before he followed after Trevor, who had left the circle of men. However, just as the attacker prepared to swing at him again, another man leapt in the way and blocked the punch.

"Stop it, Foxy," he said, scratching his stubble. "We don't need no trouble today."

"What's it to do with you?" the other man, Foxy, demanded. "Exactly. Nothing. Now get out of my way, Tasche!"

Tasche glared at Foxy for a few seconds before Foxy decided to walk away. Tasche instantly followed Trevor away into the corner of the room.

"I don't need your help."

"Yes, you do," Brendan said, as the circle of men slowly dispersed.

"If I needed your help, I would have fucking asked for it!" Trevor growled, trying to push Tasche out of the way but he was immediately pinned back against the wall and punched him in the stomach viciously.

"Don't push your luck, princess," he breathed down the neck of his terrified victim. "Women like you get killed everyday by men like him. If you wanna learn the ropes to this world, you learn 'em from me."

Trevor nodded his head, as Tasche let go of his shirt and began to cackle.

"Just kidding," he laughed, with a great smile on his face. "Who are you?"

"I'm Trevor," Trevor said with honesty. "You?"

"I'm Brendan," he replied. "Brendan Brady."

**Dance Macabre**

"I saw what you did," Will said as he leaned in closer to Sienna, smirking.

Sienna's eyes widened.

"In the car?" she asked.

"You're in love with Dodger, aren't you?" he growled. "Everyone is."

"No, of course not, don't be disgusting," she stomped on the ground without realising it.

"Give it up, Sienna," Will shook his head. "Don't waste my time."

"You're not going to say anything are you?" she asked, tears running down her eyes.

"No," he assured her, before moving dangerously close to her. "Not unless you help me out in return for my silence."


	3. Playing with Fire

**Dance Macabre**

**Author's Note:** Thank you lollzie for the first review, it means a lot.

**Dance Macabre  
Chapter III - Playing with Fire**

"Alright, lads," Dirk called out, zipping up his trousers. "Piss break is over, get back in the car."

Will looked to Sienna, who kept her eyes firmly down at the ground. He stepped away from her just as Patrick stepped behind her and placed his hand on her arm. He gently pulled her away from Will and back to the car. Dodger came out from behind a bush, with no shirt on, and looked in their direction. Maxine was crouching behind the bush completely naked when Dodger chucked his shirt towards her. As she caught his shirt, she was about to put it on when they both heard a small hissing sound. Dodger frowned as he tried to find the direction of the sound, but he then noticed a long line of yellow squirting from beneath Maxine's body and then he rapidly turned around.

"You coulda warned me, babe," Dodger whispered.

"Sorry, I just needed to go," she whispered back. "You got any tissue?"

"Use your shirt!" he growled.

"Oh yeah," she smiled as she stopped and quickly grabbed her torn up pink shirt which she had been wearing before and used it to wipe herself. "Shame, I really liked this shirt. Cost me a pinky."

"Well now its stinky," Dodger responded, laughing at his own joke, but soon saw the stained pink shirt flying in his direction, and narrowly avoided it. "You done there?"

"Nearly," she answered, as she put on his shirt.

"Alright," he answered, waiting for her. "Come on!"

"Dodge!" she hissed. "Dodge, I can't find my knickers."

"Oh my god, just come on!" he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her away from the bush. "Don't worry about it."

"What if someone sees up the shirt?"

"Then they're gonna get an eyeful, aren't they?" he smiled, pulling her away. "Now come on."

"Mark," Sienna called to him, pulling herself from her father quickly. "Can I have a word?"

"Chop chop," Dodger said as he pulled Maxine in for a hug.

"Alone, if you will," she said, looking at Maxine.

"Erm, yeah sure," Maxine excused herself, walking towards the car.

"What's up?" Dodger said, impatiently, as he looked over to Maxine and then at his twin. "Can it wait?"

"I need to tell you something," she admitted, tapping her leg to distract her from her nerves.

Sienna looked into Dodger's eyes as he awaited her response. She stood there, awkwardly, trying to think of the right words to use.

"Come on, sis," Dodger called out. "Look, we're going in a sec."

"Sleeping here tonight, fellas!" Dirk shouted out from the car's front seat. "I'm knackered, we'll have a kip in the car."

"It's just... It's silly," she went silent.

"Is it about earlier in the car?" Dodger asked, before sighing as she nodded. "I knew something was wrong. Why didn't you tell me, stupid?"

"It doesn't matter," she shook her head and trailed off.

"What is it, Sienna, just tell me please!" he growled, looking to the car to see a bored Maxine."

"It's just that I miss Darren so much," she cried as a tear rolled down her eyes. "I really want him here with me and when he helped pack my bags I could see that smile on his face that he was glad I was leaving... and its all... my fault..."

She began to sob in his arms.

"There, there," Dodger patted her back as he cuddled his little sister. "Everything's alright."

The sound of Will's crutches moving in their direction was loud. Sienna turned to him and frowned. Tears were running down her face and her eyes were red. Dodger kissed Sienna on her forehead as Will reached them. Sienna just turned her head away from Will.

"You okay, Will," Dodger asked him.

"Yeah, fine," Will turned to face the car, and saw Maxine talking to Dirk. "She told you, has she?"

"Told me what?" Dodger asked, pulling Sienna away from him.

"About how she feels?" Will asked, as Sienna shook her head violently. "You know, about..."

"Yeah, I have," Sienna blurted out, stepping between her brothers. "I've told him already."

"Oh?" a smile creased on Will's lips as he shifted his glasses' position on his nose. "Have you now?"

"Yeah," she grinned, taking one of Dodger's hands into her own and cupping it. "I told him all my problems."

"You shoulda just told me how you felt in the first place, babe," Dodger poked her in her side before pulling her into another hug.

"I know," Sienna buried her head in his chest. "I'm glad that I have now."

"You can tell me anything because I love you," Dodger kissed her forehead again. "You come before any girl in the world."

"What about Maxine?" Will asked as he headed back to the car.

"She's just a fling, you know," Dodger walked back to the car with him. "Comes and passes. Family's all that counts, innit, Sienna?"

Sienna nodded her head, following them sheepishly. When they reached the car, Patrick was opening one of the car's doors. As he entered the car, sat in his seat and closed the door, Martha was shaken awake. She looked around, dazed, as the others quickly made their way back to the car. Patrick turned his head to see Maxine was dozing off and Dirk was piling all his litter into a carrier bag before dashing it out the window.

"Night," Dirk turned off the car's engine and closed his eyes.

**Dance Macabre**

"Fred, can we chat?" Lindsey smiled at him, standing at Freddie's door in a nightgown.

"Yeah, sure," he replied, rolling over the bed and pulling off his duvet. "What do you need?"

"I have a bit of a situation on my hands," she admitted, walking into the room and sitting down next to him on his bed. "Its about that night when the explosion went off."

"Go on," Freddie said, sitting up as his interest was perked.

"Do you know how Dr Browning killed Clare and then ran away," she looked into his sorrowful eyes.

"Yeah?" Freddie frowned. "Well I know he didn't run away cos you murdered him. In cold blood."

"I didn't," she began to cry. "It was an accident, I shouldn't have ever gone there."

"No, you shouldn't have," Freddie snarled, before seeing a tear fall from her eyes. "I told you not to do anything stupid, didn't I? And you did the most stupid thing you could have ever done!"

"He tried to kill her," Lindsey pleaded. "Then he tried to kill me. Mercedes was protecting me, I could have been in his position now if it wasn't for her."

"Well, what do you want?" he mumbled, lying down again. "You've already made it look like an accident. Sorry, I've already made it look like an accident, pushing that car down that cliff. What if they had caught you, Linds, walking about with a dead body. Where were you even hiding it?"

"It was in Mercedes' loft," Lindsey confessed. "Then we moved it to the freezer at Price Slice. And then afterwards we were gonna bury it but then Mercedes called her up and changed her mind."

"What, why?" Freddie sat back up as he saw Lindsey collapse in tears. "A bit funny that, what with Cindy being dead set to bury him and then changing her mind all of a sudden. Ever wondered why?"

"Why what?" Lindsey shrugged. "To make it look like an accident. After they found that policeman's corpse in the woods, courtesy of you, it was too dangerous. We talked about it before..."

"I reckon they're taking you for a mug," Freddie suggested, placing his hand on her shoulder. "They're up to something."

"What, no, Cindy wouldn't," Lindsey looked into Freddie's eyes and cried. "We had to do it, Freddie. We had to."

"I know," Freddie hugged her.

"You've gotta believe me, you've really gotta," she begged in tears. "He's evil. Pure evil."

"I do believe you," Freddie kissed her forehead. "I really do, believe me."

"He was a killer," Lindsey sobbed. "He would have killed again. And he had so much enemies!"

"I know."

"They would have looked at us first if they found out about what he did."

"That bastard was scum," Freddie spat, removing the duvet from around his legs and sitting upright next to her. "You did what you had to do."

Lindsey nodded her head.

"I love you, Fred," Lindsey leaned up against him. "You're a star."

"I love you too, Linds," Freddie answered back in a low and broken voice.

Lindsey didn't know how honest Freddie was being. The door slightly creaked open. Joe and Sandy had been standing at the door listening into their conversation. Neither Freddie nor Lindsey saw either of them standing there as they embraced one another in a long, warm hug. Freddie's mind was racing with many thoughts, the first of which was to kiss her, and the second of which was to leave the room. Freddie chose neither, and simply sunk his head deeper into her shoulder, as she did in his, and close her eyes. He could feel her tears running down his bare back and he sighed and simply stroked her hair gently. Joe, who was grinning, coughed twice as Freddie and Lindsey turned around. Lindsey smiled at Joe but Freddie appeared more panicked. Sandy looked at Freddie with disappointment in her face. Freddie got to his feet quickly.

"We were just talking," Freddie tried to explain himself quickly.

"Yeah, we heard," Joe nodded before staring at Lindsey with an angry glare. "But Fred, when you said you did what you had to do, what did you mean by that?"

"How long were you hear for?" Lindsey began to panic with horror as she saw Sandy's face.

"Since I overheard Freddie calling someone a bastard," Joe said, as Sandy slapped his arm for swearing. "Ow... Freddie, who?"

"Nobody," Freddie quickly said, as he walked towards the door and tried to leave.

"You ain't going anywhere," Sandy stated, pushing Freddie back as Lindsey stood up to follow Joe. "Go on Joe, we're gonna have a word."

Joe and Lindsey quietly left the room, leaving Freddie to the mercy of his mother.

"Yes, Mum?"

"What do you think you're playing at?" Sandy demanded, placing her hands at her waist. "Is this a joke to you, Freddie? Is it?"

"What are you on about?" Freddie frowned, shrugging his shoulders.

"Have you already forgotten that I know all about your dirty little feelings for Lindsey?" Sandy raised her voice, saying the words as quietly as she could without alerting the others. "You need to fix up, you selfish runt, and stop trying to wriggle your way into bed with her."

Freddie sat down again, tears forming in his eyes.

"It's so hard, Mum," Freddie whispered, placing his head in his hands. "There are so many times where I just thought about going in for it, you know, but I couldn't because I realised what it would do to Joe. I just couldn't bring myself to betray him. Then there's those days when I just wanna go in for it and run away with her. And its so hard, Mum, cos the feelings right here."

He pointed at his heart.

"But then it gets shut out up here," he growled, pointing at his brain. "And I just dunno what to do any more. Follow my head and just sit tight, giving up everything I want just so Joe can be happy. Or follow my heart and be selfish just one time in my life. Just once?"

"Oh Freddie," Sandy was moved, placing her hand on his arm.

"Oh Freddie, oh Freddie," he snarled, standing up. "Oh, don't 'oh Freddie' me. You don't know the half of it. Your idea of love is getting knocked up with some old geezer's kid while you're married to another, then giving him up and getting knocked up by the next bloke who comes to your front door while poor old Dad's still fast asleep on the sofa."

Sandy quickly leapt up and slapped Freddie swiftly across his face. Freddie fell back into his desk and knocked everything off it. In a few seconds time, Joe and Lindsey had made it to the door.

"Don't you ever talk about me like that again!" Sandy shouted.

Freddie bolted to his feet and barged past his mother, brother and the object of his love. He then dashed down the stairs, grabbed his coat and headed out the front door. Joe and Lindsey followed him to the stairs but heard Sandy collapse to the floor. Ziggy and Jason made their way to Freddie's bedroom to see what was going on.

* * *

**Dance Macabre (Coming up...)**

There is more stuff planned for the Roscoe family later on but next up is more Brendan Brady stuff and a twisted turn of events at the camping trip for the Savages, the Blakes and the Kanes which truly shocks everyone.

Also, I am open to accepting ideas from the readers, so if there's anything you request to be added in, whether its little moments or big story ideas, tell me and I might include it where appropriate. Thank you, your ideas are as good as my own. Please continue reading and reviewing!


	4. Little White Lies

**Dance Macabre**

**Author's Note: **Wow, these reviews are amazing. Thanks everyone!

**Dance Macabre  
Chapter IV - Little White Lies**

"I heard something," he said, as he dug his fork into a sausage. "It was that you killed five people. And confessed to them all."

"Yeah," Brendan frowned, digging his knife through a slice of bacon.

"Why did you do it?" Trevor asked, raising a brow.

"Nobody died who didn't deserve to die," said Brendan simply, before placing the bacon in his mouth.

"No, why did you confess?" Trevor rephrased his question, biting into the sausage after speaking.

"Because I reached a point where I realised that," he paused and looked at his food. "The only way I could protect the people I loved was to leave their lives. And if I started a new life, who knows how many more people I would have hurt. What about you? Why are you in this shit hole?"

"I was set up," Trevor growled. "Some of my employees set me up for murder and I'm facing twenty-five to life now."

"Here was me thinking you did something interesting," Brendan continued to chew on the bacon as he spoke, but his eyes never left the scrambled eggs in front of him. "Hmm..."

"Don't get me wrong," Trevor shook his head and waved his fork at him. "I did do the murder, shot him in the lung. But that's not the only reason I'm here. Selling drugs, drug trafficking, human trafficking, you name it and I was on that. Who did you kill?"

"You know, err," he swallowed the bacon. "I had a dad who was no good, my Nana was no good, my business partner threatened the people I loved and so did the wayward cop. So they were no good. You know Foxy boy over there."

Brendan pointed to Foxy, the man who had attacked Trevor the previous day.

"Yeah, what about him?"

"His kid's step-dad used to beat him, just like my Da, and so we kidnapped him," Brendan turned his head around. "I hanged him upside down from a lighthouse for a few hours to teach him a lesson. When I brought him back up, he spat at me. Well, we know how far that got him, don't we?"

"What did you do?"

"Sent him on a little short cut to the ground floor," Brendan smiled. "The copper I killed helped me cover up the murder. Obviously before I found out he was an undercover officer of the law. It was on the same day I found out me Nana knew about me Da beating me when I was a little boy so she..."

He paused.

"She, er, had her life brought to a tragic close," Brendan nodded. "The copper then terrorised my family, kidnapped my son, shot some footballer and kidnapped my boyfriend and sister so he ended up on the wrong side of the tracks. Then I shot my Da in his back."

Trevor grinned.

"This fella you killed," Brendan asked with a low voice. "Who was he?"

"Some copper, just like you," Trevor leaned forwards. "Found out about a little prostitution ring I used to run and my other stuff and then tried to get to me through my star prostitute. So I shot him dead. Simple as, for business."

"You and me are nothing alike," Brendan stood up, pushing his tray away from him. "I'm twisted, you just wasted your life."

"I realise that now," Trevor muttered. "Since my employees betrayed me and my employer's kid bombed some flats, I realised that if I was going down, I'm taking the lot of them with me. I've got boys on the outside who owe me a few favours and can get people killed."

"For a price?" Brendan sat back down.

"Yeah," Trevor nodded, cupping his clenched right fist with his open palm and then grinding it. "Why, you want some one done in?"

"Perhaps," Brendan looked back to Foxy, who was making his way towards them. "A little runt who tried to blackmail me and steal my boyfriend."

"What's his name?"

"His name's..."

Brendan and Trevor were both stunned as their table flipped over. The two remained still as Foxy looked at them both.

"Alright, one of you are gonna pay for yesterday," Foxy grabbed Trevor and pulled him up. "New meat, what you in here for?"

"Murder," Trevor confessed.

"Well you don't know the half of what I've been through," Warren growled, "Having to meet new blood like you every day only for them to get on my god damn nerves. If you wanna survive in here, you better prove yourself in the ring."

"What if he says no," Brendan asked, standing up from his chair and facing Foxy in his face. "What then, Mr Warren Fox?"

"Remember Pixie?" Warren breathed into Brendan's face.

"Ooh," Brendan widened his eyes and turned to Trevor, grinning with joy. "How scary, you've got me running fucking shitless, mate, I can just feel my piss running down my fucking thighs!"

"Don't get smart, Brady," Warren seethed with anger. "Or I'll do ya one."

"Go ahead, son," Brendan shouted.

Warren swung a punch towards Brendan, which he took to his rib cage. Brendan, winded, staggered backwards as Warren cracked his neck and smiled.

"Don't mess with me, Brenda," Warren mocked him.

Brendan immediately charged at Warren and grabbed his waist. Lifting his opponent into the air, he continued to run forwards and slammed Warren backwards into a table. The impact of Warren smashing into the table snapped it in half. As Warren hit the ground in pain, Brendan punched him twice in the head. Several of Warren's minions pulled Brendan back as Warren sprang to his feet with a bloody nose and a bust lip. Warren then punched Brendan in his face, knocking him back, before trying to punch him again in the face but Brendan pushed Warren's fist away. Warren then pulled Brendan by his collar and threw him into the wall behind them. Warren then grabbed Brendan by his neck and attempted to choke his life from him. Brendan nearly managed to break free but Warren brutally smashed Brendan away with his fist. Brendan spat the blood from his mouth onto the floor as Trevor tried to help Brendan but was forced into a large melee battle with Warren's friends. Warren grabbed Brendan's throat again with his right hand but as he attempted to punch Brendan again, Brendan used his left hand to swipe away Warren's ferocious punch. Warren fell forwards towards the wall and so Brendan slipped to Warren's left and pushed Warren towards the wall. Brendan then viciously smashed Warren in his back and knocked him into the wall. Trevor found himself being held up by two men as another brought an array of punches directed at his stomach. Brendan then turned Warren around and threw him towards the crowd of men gathering about and as he stumbled to the floor, the men holding back Trevor tried to sprint at Brendan. As Warren stumbled to the ground and then back onto his feet, he could see Trevor glaring at him. Warren opened his mouth and shook his head but it was a vain attempt as Trevor drove his right hand up to uppercut Warren in his chin and knock him onto the ground.

"That's enough!"

Three police men began beating their way through the crowd with a baton as Brendan punched his way back into the crowd to reach Warren. Brendan then lifted Warren to his feet and delivered another two blows to his rival's face but a large slam on his back forced him to let him go in pain. Brendan span around to punch a man in his face. This man had been holding a chair, which he had hit Brendan with, but after the punch, he dropped the chair and stepped back. Brendan booted the man further back into a police officer who had managed to beat his way towards them. The officer fell to the ground in pain. Brendan snarled at Warren as he turned around but was met with a punch to the jaw before being kicked in his shin. Brendan leant down to lessen the pain but Warren then shoved Brendan backwards. Brendan grabbed Warren's collar and threw him over a table. The crowd dispersed and made a ring around the table. He then approached the table before suddenly sprinting towards it. As Warren hit the ground on the other side of the table and looked up, he could see Brendan leap onto the table and then again into the air with his fist outstretched.

"I'm coming, Foxy."

Brendan then fell towards Warren as the police closed in.

**Dance Macabre**

Lindsey entered the garage to see Freddie sitting in one of the cars. She approached it.

"Are you okay?" she asked politely.

"Yeah, I'm good, the car was just such a fun place to hang out," he grinned sarcastically before grunting. "It was a rough night."

"Why did you walk out?" she asked.

"Mum was doing me head in," Freddie looked at her as she smiled weakly. "Oh don't you gimme that look an' all."

"What look?" she demanded, placing her hands on her hips and pouting her lower lip.

"That one, right there."

Lindsey walked around the car and pulled the handle but it wouldn't budge. She knocked on the car's window three times.

"Open the doors, Fred," she ordered him.

The door unlocked after the sound of a click and she opened it.

"You sure you're okay?" she asked him, as she tried to shuffle into the car.

"Yeah," he lied, turning his head to the stereo and browsing through the stations. "Everything is good."

"I know when you're lying to me," Lindsey turned around and looked towards the back seats of the car to see a packed rucksack on one of the seats. "You're doing a runner?"

"No," Freddie shook his head. "Maybe I was thinking about it, but I realise how stupid it is now."

"Yeah, it is," Lindsey placed her hand on Freddie's. "Come home, everyone is missing you."

"I can't stay there, Linds," Freddie turned away from the window to face her. "I need to find somewhere, you know, where I can stay by myself."

"You could never live by yourself, you'd never know where to start!" Lindsey giggled to herself.

"What do you mean?" he frowned, staring at her accusingly.

"Do you even know how to turn on the cooker?" Lindsey asked him, gripping his hand playfully.

Freddie looked down at Lindsey's hand and stared at it. He then looked up to face her to see her smiling sweetly as she played with his hand.

"I have to go," he muttered. "It's for the best."

"Where you gonna go, Fred?" she asked, the tone on her voice changed into a mixture of anger and frustration.

"I don't know," he shrugged, opening the car door. "But I know how to get money. Fraser told me that he could have me do a couple errands for him and get good pay. Grace agreed to let me do some shifts down at the club until I've got a proper place to stay and now that Sinead's been kicked out by her mum, we can move in together."

"Sinead?" Lindsey mumbled quietly, sounding as if she had been betrayed.

"Yeah," Freddie answered her, as she went still.

"I thought things weren't serious with her," Lindsey turned her head away. "What happened to that girl you couldn't have, remember her?"

"What's your problem with Sinead?"

The garage's door rolled open and Joe approached, with Robbie not too far behind. Freddie looked out the window and huffed.

"Great, Tweedledum and Tweedledee," Freddie lowered his head. "Listen, we'll continue this another time. Get out the car."

"What?" Lindsey frowned.

"Just get out," Freddie raised his voice.

Lindsey hurried to open the door and quickly take her leave. Joe reached her and brought her towards him for a kiss. Lindsey shied away. Robbie walked up to the car and patted it's roof before leaning down to look at Freddie, who looked quite miserable in his chair. Freddie revved the engine.

"You alright, babe?" Joe asked, kissing her forehead.

"Yeah, you?" she weakly replied.

"Yeah, I was thinking a lunch at the Dog in an hour after I fix that car," Joe smiled, pointing to the car Freddie was in. "That's if he don't stop moping about like a spoilt little girl. What do you reckon?"

Lindsey looked spacey.

"Linds?" he grinned, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Lindsey?"

"Yeah, sorry, what's up?" she asked, looking up at him. "Sorry you were saying?"

"Nothing," Joe turned his head to the car again, disappointed, before walking towards it. "Freddie, come on, get moving."

Freddie quickly reversed the car out of the garage and onto the road.

"Freddie, what are you doing?" Joe shouted after him, running out. "Come on, come back here! That ain't your car, that car's -"

"Mine," Fraser stepped into the garage through the door, his eyes watching his own car speed down the road.

Joe sighed as Fraser pulled out his phone and glared in Lindsey's direction. He then nodded his head as he dialled in a number and it picked up.

"Yeah," he grunted, taking one last look at Lindsey then at the road Freddie had fled on. "I've got a job for you."

**Dance Macabre**

"I don't think you know what's going on," Dodger poked his sister, Liberty, in her side. "You're obviously up to something."

"No, why would I be?" Liberty smirked.

"When you roll the dice and get a five, you can't start moving seven or eight places," Dodger grinned, moving her piece backwards.

"What?" Liberty turned to her dad. "The dirty cheat!"

Dirk laughed as they bickered over the piece. Martha was sitting down beside Dirk, while Sienna, Dodger and Maxine sat on the opposite side of the small board. Will was seated on the end of the table, bored, as he watched his two siblings fussing over the game of Cluedo. Patrick was standing next to the two boys who had accompanied Maxine, but they were too busy talking with Lacey to focus on him. Will slowly stood up and made his way over to Patrick, who snorted as soon as he saw him. Will tightened his grip on his crutches and leaned towards his brother's father.

"How are you doing?" Will asked, a devious grin on his face.

"Fine," Patrick answered, turning away from him and lifting a wine bottle. "What do you want?"

"Nothing," he said, taking another step closer to him as Lacey directed the boys away. "I had a little chat with Sienna earlier."

"Good for you."

"And I was thinking about telling her every little detail of your sordid life," Will smugly smirked as Patrick poured the wine into the glass. "But then I remembered, she already knows."

"What do you want from me?" he growled, before taking a sip, gulping the wine and turning his head. "I'm already remaining silent about what you did. Don't try to turn this back on me, what you did was far worse. Anna didn't deserve that and Texas..."

"I know what I did," Will's smile turned into a frown as he spoke. "And why I did it. What they don't know is that you are a dirty man."

"I am warning you-"

"Sienna, can you come over here please," Will called her as Patrick moved dangerously close to him. "Now."

Patrick glared at Will furiously before turning his head away and drinking all of his wine at once. Sienna had found her way between her father and her brother, and as she stroked her left arm with her right hand, she looked up at Will. Will smiled weakly as Patrick decided to leave the conversation and head towards the small table where the others were playing Cluedo. Will scratched his brow.

"What is it?" Sienna turned her head back to the table to see Dodger lean in to kiss Maxine, then hearing her father spit in the sink.

"What we were talking about on the way here?" Will grinned again, this time placing a hand on Sienna's. "I won't say anything if you do something for me. I have a little preposition for you and if you accept, I should see you in my room tonight."

Will looked up and down her body.

"Preferably with a better choice of clothing," Will half-smiled, before limping away from her.

"Good chance," Sienna scoffed, walking up to him. "You're nothing but a sick psycho with disgusting feelings for your own."

"Like you?" Will didn't turn back to face her as he said these words. "Like your father?"

"How do you..." Sienna's eyes widened and her voice trailed off, as she looked back to her father who was leaning over the sink.

"Tick tock," Will said quietly. "Don't keep me waiting, Sienna."


	5. What is Love?

**Dance Macabre  
Chapter V - What Is Love?**

Sienna sat in the lounge staring into Dodger's eyes. She was frustrated at herself and at the world. She couldn't think, for the life of her, why everyone around her was so happy and yet she was the one being punished for it. Dirk and Martha were sitting down, happily reminiscing about memories from their respective childhoods in the 70s and 80s while, as usual, Lacey and Liberty were flirting wildly with Alex and Tom. Even Will seemed happy sitting on his own in the corner staring at people like a deranged stalker. All she wanted was for someone to love her, someone who loved her unlike a father loves his daughter or a brother loves his sister. She looked towards her father, who was making a phone call.

"No," Patrick muttered into the phone as he turned to Will. "Yes, I would help you but there's little I can actually do at the moment."

"What are you talking about?" Maxine giggled as she exited the room.

"You've never heard of any kind of good music, have you?" Dodger laughed, closing the door for her. "You need a better taste."

"No, not now," Patrick raised his voice. "Something got in the way. You're going to have to ask someone else to do it. Get that brutish man whose normally skulking around to do it and leave me be for the remainder of the week."

"Wow!" Liberty screeched as Alex lifted up his shirt.

"You have such nice abs," Lacey grinned, rubbing her hands all over Alex's body. "And you're so sexy too, Tom!"

"You're not so bad yourselves," Tom smirked, whipping off his t-shirt. "Why don't you strip too?"

"Not in here, I won't," Lacey laughed as she turned her head. "There's my mum, right there. Let's get out of here."

"Great!" Alex smiled, following her and Tom out, with Liberty trailing close behind.

"I said," Patrick paused and placed his hands on his head, before taking a long breath and then speaking. "Do not call me while I am away. If you want to talk, then you can call me when I get back to the school then... Jesus Christ, no... I don't care about who's taking control of the school in the space of this week because I'm busy. Suck it up and deal with it. I'll sort out the problem when I get back to the village but until then, leave me alone."

Sienna looked towards Will, who was now staring angrily at her. A thought suddenly spurred to her mind as she stretched out her shirt and looked down at her cleavage. Smiling, she stood up and left the door immediately.

"Dodger," Sienna called after him, grabbing two pints from the table and following after him. "Here you are!"

Dodger looked at the pint and smiled.

"Cheers, sis," he smiled, attempting to take the pint from her hands but she purposefully released it just in time and the glass fell to the floor.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Sienna knelt down to begin sweeping up the shattered glass, but as she did so, she allowed a large amount of her cleavage to become perfectly visible to Dodger. "Let me..."

"Wow!" Dodger widened his eyes as he bent down to pick up the broken glass.

"What?" Sienna looked at him, to see him guiltily staring at her chest.

Dodger turned his head away shamefully.

"Sorry," he looked at Maxine, who was blissfully unaware of what Dodger had done.

"No, sorry, that was my fault," she reassured him, but Dodger was shaking his head in disbelief. "I should have put on something... less tight."

"Yep," Dodger nodded, standing up quickly. "I'm gonna go."

Dodger pivoted on the spot and followed Maxine. Sienna could hear the sound of crutches cranking on the floor towards her and turned to see Will smiling at her.

"Listen, about before," Will shook his head and looked at the floor. "I'm sorry. I swear, I won't tell anyone about Dodger or what I know about Patrick. I'm just really..."

Will paused, and sniffed, tears falling from his eyes.

"I haven't got my Ash, you know?" he sobbed, placing his hands over his eyes. "I just really needed some company tonight. I didn't mean what I said, I don't really want that, I just wanted to freak you out a little bit, I swear."

"Is that how you get your kicks?" Sienna placed her hands on her hips. "Perving on your sister?"

"No," he shook his head. "Well... You... are stunning! And it is hard for me to not be attracted to you, really. Its hard to see why Dodger doesn't see it. But that's not what I wanted out of tonight, I just really hoped you come to my room so we can chat. No one else here wants to."

"Will," Sienna sighed and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I would, but..."

"But I'm not worth your time," Will groaned. "I never am."

"Alright, call it eight thirty?" Sienna smiled, looking at her watch. "So in three hours? I'll bring the bubbly!"

"It's a date," Will smiled, before shaking his head. "Obviously not a date. A deal, rather."

"Yeah," she grinned.

**Dance Macabre**

"That fight... was epic, fam!"

Brendan turned his head to see a skinny man next to him.

"I'm OG Tone, I came here last-"

"I don't care who you are," Brendan cut him off, stepping away from him and shaking his head. "Not in the slightest."

"Yeah, but the fight was sick!" Tone shouted, clicking his fingers. "Nah, I mean, real sick, brother. Like, I couldn't even think about trying that on a man, but you were like a ninja on those sidemans, innit?"

"Yeah, blad, and I just murked them all, innit, with my sick ting, famalam ting, innit," Brendan spat, stepping past him. "Talk like that in here and you will get yourself in a fight."

Brendan walked away from him and towards Trevor, who was leaning against the wall. Brendan stopped when he reached Trevor, and without turning to face him, he opened his mouth. Brendan looked ahead of him as he structured his following sentence.

"We're moving," Brendan muttered.

"What?" Trevor asked, turning his head to see Tone cursing under his breath.

"We're moving, room, hall, block or something, but we're moving," Brendan blurted out all these words, his heavy Dublin accent taking a toll.

"You're scared of Warren?" Trevor questioned.

"No, I'm scared of me," Brendan frowned, turning to him. "I wouldn't move because of him. It's them who have the problem."

Although he didn't turn his head, Brendan pointed straight at the police officers approaching them.

"What do you mean moving?"

"They're separating us," Brendan stated, as if he was saying the most obvious thing.

"Why do you care if we're being separated?" Trevor shrugged, looking confused.

"Not us - you and me," Brendan shook his head. "Us - us and Foxy. Don't you get it? If we're being moved, I don't get to pick a fight on him and I'm stuck on my own in some dark room. The food in there isn't nice so I'm not going back there."

"The food?" Trevor frowned. "Speak sense."

"I'm not being moved into solitary care," Brendan laughed. "Because I've been there and they treat you like dirt. If they put me in there, I'm gonna kill him."

"Fair enough."

"You'll be in solitary care as well," he said, walking away.

**Dance Macabre**

Dodger leaned forwards towards Maxine and kissed her gently on her lips. Maxine began to giggle when he squeezed her into a hug. Dodger moved towards the covers and tried to sneak under it. Maxine followed suit, and after a short struggle with the cover, they were both lying in the bed. Maxine crawled over his stomach and kissed him again. Both of them were laughing as they did this. He moved his hands quickly to her back and placed his hands at the bottom of her shirt. He then lifted his arms and pulled her shirt up into the air and over her head. Dodger grinned at the sight of Maxine lying in bed with just her bra and tights on. Dodger then pulled off his own shirt, receiving a playful growl from his girlfriend. As he tried to move himself on top of her, she stopped him.

"Dodge," Maxine took a short breath. "I love you."

"That's great," he smiled, kissing her before being pulled off.

"That's it?" she demanded, sitting up. "I love you."

"Thanks, babe," he grinned, pulling off his belt and unzipping his trousers. "Now, come on."

"Is that all you care about? Sex? Am I just some cheap tart who you can just call upon to get laid?"

"No, of course you're not!" he shrugged, trying to kiss her again.

"Then tell me you love me too," she ordered him.

He huffed and turned his head away. Maxine scoffed and stood up, taking her shirt and throwing it on back to front.

"Where're you going, Max?" Dodger sighed.

"Out!"

Maxine slammed the door behind her. She turned to see Sienna walking down the corridor holding a bottle of champagne.

"Hey," Sienna smiled at Maxine, who stormed past her in anger. "Oh, fine."

Sienna passed the door for Dodger and Maxine's room and knocked on Will's door. After a short wait, the door opened and Will was stood up, leaning against his crutches. Sienna grinned at Will, who was dressed in a checkered shirt and a pair of well-ironed jeans, and smelt strongly sweet. It was clear that he had made more of an effort than her, who dressed simply in a random beige top and skinny jeans.

"I brought the bubbly," Sienna smiled as she entered the room, which Will closed behind him.

"It's great to see you," Will said, cheerfully. "If you ask me, I didn't even think you were going to turn up."

Sienna takes two glasses and pops open the cork off the bottle. She then pours two equally sized glasses of champagne.

"Here you are," she said, handing over his glass.

"Cheers."

Sienna downed her glass and poured herself a second one. Smiling faintly, Will approached her.

"Slow down, you'll get drunk before you know it," he spoke, with a pleased tone in his voice.

"I am just sick and tired of everyone telling me what to do," Sienna huffed, finishing her second glass in one go and pouring a third. "Dad never even let me leave the house when I was a kid, you know. I had no friends until I came here and even when I did, it took some time. Now I only have Maxine."

"Yeah," Will nodded. "We all know what happened with Nancy."

"And that bitch is still trying to get her grubby little hands on my Darren," she shouted. "That stupid ring he gave me the other day meant nothing. What he did at that wedding said it all."

"Yeah, well-"

"Where were you then?" Sienna asked. "I haven't seen much of you since you got the house of Mum. Been there yet?"

"I'm thinking of selling up, actually," he muttered. "I don't need all the reminders of what she did."

"No, you can't!" Sienna's eyes widened, as thoughts of Tom rushed to her head. "I mean, its all the memories of Mum and everything. It wouldn't be right to just sell 'em away."

"Yeah, you're right," he nodded, watching her gulp down the third glass in relief. "Let's not think of her now. This is to the future. The Savage-Blake family!"

"Yeah!" Sienna exclaimed, pouring another glass and then clashing it with his. "To the Blake-Savages! Woo!"

Sienna stood up and moved to the stereo putting on any song. She began to dance, grabbing his hand and pulling him to a stand. Will toppled over, grabbing his clutches in time to support himself. Sienna had a large grin on her face as she snatched the bottle from the table and downed it. She then began to attempt a belly dance.

"Call that dancing?" Will asked, spinning around to see her start grinding against him. "Woah!"

"Come on, let's get Mark!" Sienna called out, after stroking Will's leg.

"No, just us two," Will sighed, as she stumbled onto his bed in an inebriated moment of clumsiness. "Oops."

Will sat down beside her as she giggled hysterically at the confused look on his face.

"You're alright, you know?" Sienna sat up to face him. "You and your glasses."

She took them off him and put them on.

"Sienna!" he laughed. "Come on, I need them to help me see."

Sienna laughed harder as he leant towards her to grab his glasses from her but she took them off and raised her hand in the air. Will moved his right hand to grab her left hand, which was clutching the glasses, and tried to wrestle them from her. Then, as he moved closer to get in a better position, Sienna looked into his eyes and then closed hers. Leaning in, she slowly moved her face towards his until their lips met. Softly, she held the tender kiss in place until their lips parted. Sienna lowered her arm in unison with him and stared into his large green eyes. Will looked into her auburn eyes too. Able to feel each other's warm breaths on their lips, they rushed into a long, passionate clench.


	6. A Harsh Ultimatum

**Dance Macabre  
****Chapter VI - A Harsh Ultimatum**

Lindsey dialled Freddie's phone number in, and it began to ring. She looked up at Sandy, who smiled as she watched Joe enter the room, followed by Fraser and Robbie. Lindsey shook her head as the call went straight to voice mail.

"Freddie, it's me, call me as soon as you get this."

He shifted his position in the sofa as he watched the phone until it stopped dialling. A small beep went off on his phone to tell him there was a new voice mail message. Grabbing his phone, he played the message.

'_Freddie, it's me, call me as soon as you get this_.'

He stared straight into the screen of his phone as the message played in his head over and over again. Just the thought of Lindsey turned his stomach as he felt disgusted by his own feelings for her. Perhaps his mother was right. All he wanted was to pry Lindsey from Joe's arms into his. But deep down, he knew he couldn't go through with it because he loved his brother too much to hurt him in this way. As he thought hard about his life, he was snapped back to reality by the soft touch of a small hand on his shoulder. Freddie turned around to see a small, blonde woman bracing a sympathetic smile. He smiled back at her as she sat down on the sofa beside him, gently caressing his shoulder.

"Are you sure you're alright?" she asked him.

"Positive, " he grinned back at her, hiding his phone in his pocket.

"Ah," she sighed, her smile not fading. "Do you want a cuppa?"

"No, I'm good, thanks."

"Mum!" a loud voice echoed from another room. "Tell him to shut up!"

"What now?" the blonde woman called back.

"My retard of a brother called me a fat slut," she growled, rushing into the front room dressed in a scanty skirt and a tight t-shirt revealing most of her bust. "I'm not fat, am I?"

"Course not, Sinead," Freddie reassured her.

"Could you sound any more convinced!" Sinead exclaimed.

Freddie huffed as Sinead stormed towards the closest mirror, which was hanging on the wall next to the TV. Sinead stared at herself in the mirror, checking to see if she was exhibiting any signs of being slightly overweight. Finn hurried down the stairs laughing as she squeezed her belly. Sinead frowned at him as he made a frantic dash for the front door.

"Finn!" she squealed, as she turned around and glared at him. "What kind of world do I live in if my own boyfriend thinks I'm fat?"

"Oh, shut up," Diane laughed as she entered the room with two mugs of hot chocolate. "Look, I know you didn't want any but I took the liberty to make you some anyway."

Diane bent down to hand Freddie the mug. The front door swung open as Finn sprinted out the house. An annoyed grunt could be heard from outside the house as Finn bumped into someone outside the house. There was three knocks on the open front door before the person entered and approached Diane, Freddie and Sinead.

"Such a wind-up merchant, our Finn," Diane said quietly to Freddie as she turned around. "Oh, Darren? How can I help you?"

"Can I speak to Freddie?" Darren asked, as Freddie took a sip of his hot chocolate. "In private."

"I'm busy," Freddie groaned, lifting his mug in evidence.

"It's important," Darren said impatiently.

"Alright, I'll meet you down at the Dog in half an hour, yeah?" Freddie smiled, nodding his head.

"Yeah, whatever," Darren said, hurrying out.

Sinead was eyeing herself in the mirror.

"Will you quit that?" Freddie half-shouted as he turned around to see her. "You're already beautiful as it is!"

"What..." Sinead paused as she shook her head and moved closer towards him. "A liar."

"You're not fat, you're beautiful."

"You're lying," she pleaded, falling down on the sofa beside Diane. "You think I'm fat and ugly!"

"Yeah, I do," Freddie joked, as Diane began to laugh and Sinead began to glare at him. "What do you want me to say then, to shut you up?"

**Dance Macabre**

Will hurried into the room and watched Sienna take a seat. Dirk moved between them both as Maxine barged into the room too.

"Everyone, listen up," Dirk called out. "I have some bad news, guys. Its already Tuesday and we've been booked for a week until Saturday since yesterday. And we might not get our camping spots if we don't get there today. So pack up all your stuff and let's get going."

"Why did we even come to the hotel then?" Dodger demanded, shrugging. "Waste of time and money."

"I got lost, didn't I?" Dirk giggled. "But we needed to sleep somewhere."

"I say we should leave now," Liberty jumped up, excited, as Dodger took her shoulders and pushed her back into her seat.

"Calm down," Dodger grinned. "Dad, get the car started. Nobody unpacked, you doughnut. Who'd be stupid enough to do that?"

Lacey awkwardly glanced around the room.

"Umm," she paused and raised her hand. "I did."

"Why'd you do that?" Dodger demanded, crossing the room and grabbing her by her hand. "Let's get packing then!"

"Alright, Dodger, calm down," she said, as everyone laughed at the sight. "I can walk myself."

"Not fast enough," Dodger rebutted.

Maxine and Sienna glanced up at Dodger and Lacey as they vanished from the room. Sienna stood up quickly to move towards Will, who was heading for the door. As she reached him, he smiled at her and then turned his head to look at Patrick, who was quietly watching every movement Maxine made. Turning her head back towards his sister, he could see her standing still with her mouth wide open, trying to find the words.

"Look, about yesterday," Sienna hesitated, her cheeks burning red.

"Nothing happened yesterday," Will reassured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I know who you really want, and if you want, I will help you get your hands on him but that's only on one condition."

"What's that?" she asked, looking panicked.

"You let me be the baby's godfather," Will smiled at her. "When he, or she, is born."

Sienna looked even more panicked as she placed her hand down to her stomach and stroked the bump.

"I'm so stupid," she began to cry. "All that alcohol yesterday, I got drunk. I'm so stupid, I'm such a stupid girl."

Will frowned.

"Why didn't you stop me, you idiot!" Sienna punched him on his arm. "She, or he, could have died."

"He," Will smirked, leaning forwards and winking. "His name's George."

"No, she's Celia," Sienna muttered. "Celia Anna Osborne."

"What?" Will stepped backwards, and urged a fake smile to come forwards. "Yeah, Anna. It's a fitting name, considering that bitch is the same bitch who destroyed my life."

"Yeah, sorry," she apologised, as a tear fell from his eyes. "I didn't think. Look, I'll go over names again with Darren when we get home. But he really wanted to name our girl after our mothers. Or if its a boy, after our fathers. Jack Patrick Blake."

"Who's Celia?" he frowned, wiping a tear. "I thought Darren's mum was..."

"Leave it, yeah?" she smiled. "He's in a really bad place."

"Hurry up everyone, let's get going!" Dirk shouted out.

**Dance Macabre**

Freddie entered the pub but as soon as he took the first step in, a hand grabbed him and pulled him into the pub faster.

"Oi!" Freddie stared at his brother. "What do you want?"

"I've got to tell you something," Darren said, as Nancy headed down the stairs. "It's about my kid."

"What?" Freddie asked, calming down a little.

"I want," he looked at Nancy, who smiled as she headed to the bar. "I want to make Joe my kids' godfather."

"So?" he shrugged. "What's that to me?"

"I was going to call my kid Jack Darren Joseph Frederick David Robert Jason Mark Patrick Osborne," he grinned. "After us guys."

"Woah, that's a bit of a handful," Freddie grinned. "What if he's a girl?"

"Then its Celia Sienna Josephine Frederina Davina Roberta Jasmine Marion Anne Osborne."

"That's... still a handful," Freddie nodded before pausing. "What about Mum?"

"As far as I'm concerned, Celia's my mother," Darren smiled before turning around. "I just wanted to let you know."

"Celia?" he shouted. "Where's Sandy's name? This'll break her."

"I think she can get over it," Darren blurted. "She got over me fast enough, didn't she?"

"I'd keep this shut if I were you," Freddie hurried out. "I can't believe you're making Joe the kid's godfather after his little dalliance with your wife."

"I am right here, you know!" Nancy called out.

"He might as well be the kid's dad, the way he goes about," Freddie growled. "I bet Nancy is pregnant too and is waiting to just get her hands all over you as soon as Sienna turns her back."

"Sienna's gone," Darren stated. "She hasn't tried anything yet."

"Bet you've been dying for a ride though!"

"I am still literally standing right here, guys," Nancy frowned as she got herself a drink.

"I wouldn't even touch her with a ten foot pole," Darren shouted.

"Oh, thanks," she smiled sardonically as she downed the drink.

"Neither would I!" Freddie shouted at Darren. "But Joe would. Joe did. So if she does end up pregnant with Joe's baby, don't come to me in tears that your love has been broken. I would have thought you could do better than that."

"Why would I go for her when my pregnant girlfriend is much more..."

"Am I invisible!" Nancy shouted at them. "Am I? I don't have to put up with this."

Nancy slammed her glass onto the table and headed back upstairs as Freddie slipped out of the door.

"Nance."

"Do you love me, Darren?" she shouted. "I mean I know you said it last time but.

"Yeah," he whispered.

"Do you really love me?" she demanded.

"Of course I do."

"Then, Darren, you have to make a choice right now," she shouted, as she turned around to face him. "This choice follows you, there's no turning back. It's me or Sienna?"

Darren hesitated.

"If you say my name, then we get together and we ditch Sienna and we move away with Oscar and Charlie," she said. "We restart our own family and we have more kids if we want and we grow old together. Nobody else but us."

"Yeah, and if I say Sienna?" Darren grumbled.

"Then we, us, you and I," she paused. "We're done. Split custody over Oscar and Charlie but the only time I see you is when you're dropping off Oscar and Charlie. You don't even call me unless its about Oscar or Charlie, because I don't want anything more to do with you if you're not with me and choose her over me, Oscar and Charlie."

Darren made his way to the bar.

"I..." he looked into her eyes, to see that she wasn't joking and panicked. "I..."

"So, Darren," Nancy glared into his eyes. "Who's it gonna be?"


	7. Arrival

**Dance Macabre**

**Author's Note: **Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed, especially to 'Jade' who really wanted this new chapter so here it is. I have plans for the next one.

**Dance Macabre  
Chapter VII. Arrival**

Darren sat in the armchair with his head in his hands. The door to the living room opened and his stepmother Frankie slowly entered the room, followed shortly by Esther and Charlie. Darren turned to look at them but he didn't speak. Esther smiled at him sympathetically as Frankie scoffed and headed straight out of the room. Darren frowned as Frankie slammed the door while Charlie turned his head, wondering whether he should follow her out or stay with them.

"What's her problem?" Darren asked her, looking at Charlie.

"We saw Nancy," Esther revealed, as Charlie grabbed her hand. "She told us everything."

"What?" Darren growled, standing up quickly. "What did she say?"

"Nothing," Esther shook her head. "It wasn't any of my business."

"Good," Darren said, stumbling towards the door.

"Get some sleep, Darren," she suggested.

Darren nodded as he turned around and straightened his shirt. As he headed towards the door, he noticed Charlie hide his head behind Esther as he walked past. He then sighed, before pushing open the door, but he could see Nancy walking up to him with Frankie standing behind her.

"Nancy," Darren mumbled, turning around to look at Esther before looking back to see his former wife. "What are you–"

"I'm not here to beg you to come with me," Nancy cut in quickly. "I am here to collect my children's stuff. I've decided that Charlie and Oscar are going to come with me to stay with my aunt in Manchester for a while."

"What?" Darren approached her. "How can you take my kids away from me?"

"Charlie's not your son."

"He's not yours either," Darren shouted, pointing at her. "And you're not taking Oscar anywhere out of the village."

"Yes I am," Nancy shouted back. "And I don't want to have to go to court, so I assumed we could settle this quietly. You can keep Tom."

"Oh nice, so you want all the kids but Tom's not good enough, is he?"

"Of course he is," Nancy turned to see Esther and Charlie watching. "If he wants to come, I'll take him too. I just assumed he'd want to stay with you – his family."

"This whole family is ridiculous," Darren shouted loudly. "None of the kids here except Oscar are even part of this family, are they? Esther's only here because of Frankie, who's not even really part of the family!"

"Oi!" Frankie shouted as Esther's eyes widened.

"It's true," he turned to Esther, as Jack, Ruby and Tom entered the hallway. "And what is Ruby and Tom doing here? None of you have a single family member here. Tom brings bad luck everywhere he goes, like a curse, and Ruby's just a little tagalong."

"That's enough!" Jack shouted at his son as Ruby and Tom hurried out.

"No," he said, moving towards his father. "You know what, Oscar and I are leaving and I don't care what the rest of you do. As soon as Sienna returns, we're gone."

"Don't be stupid," Jack said, as Darren stormed down the stairs. "Come back here!"

**Dance Macabre**

"Here we are," Dirk grinned as he stood beside the open car door.

"It looks… nice," Martha said, getting out of the car and closing the door.

"That's one word for it," Dodger laughed as he helped Maxine out of the car. "It isn't what it looked like in the pictures, Dad."

"No, not quite," Dirk said.

"Yeah, that happens a lot," Patrick said at the same time as Dirk.

Dirk and Patrick looked at one another awkwardly before turning to face Dodger and frowning. Patrick quickly fixed his tie and shook his head, turning around to walk towards Sienna, who was standing beside Will and laughing hysterically at a joke.

"I was talking to…" Dodger looked at both of the men as Maxine approached him and grabbed his hand. "It doesn't matter."

"Alright, head count," Dirk called out. "Dodge, Patrick, Martha, Maxine, Will, Sienna, Lib, Tom and…"

"And?" Will questioned.

"I feel like we're missing somebody," Dirk frowned, scratching his brow.

"Who is it?" Maxine wondered, looking around.

"Where's Lacey?" Martha demanded, peering through the car's windscreen to see if she was in the vehicle.

"Where's Tom?" Liberty asked.

Sienna looked at her younger sister and glared furiously upon hearing her say the name 'Tom'.

"I can guess," Dodger laughed, before receiving a piercing glare from Martha. "I'll go back and get them then."

"Come on, let's go and meet the owners of this place," Dirk said, stepping away from the car. "Where are they?"

"Shouldn't they have come out here to meet us?" Sienna asked, as she clasped her hand in Will's. "It's chilling out here."

"Hello!" a voice called out to them. "You must be the Savages?"

"Yes!" Dirk smiled with a gleam as a pretty blonde girl made their way towards them. "You must be Ally Denson?"

"No," she laughed, stretching out her hand. "I'm Ally's daughter, Cameron."

"I'm Ally," a rough-sounding and large man called to them from behind Cameron. "Welcome to the Denson Farm, you probably wanna see where you're gonna be staying tonight then?"

"Definitely," Dodger nodded, following Ally.

Cameron stood in the middle of the field as Ally led Dodger and the rest of the party towards a large cabin house. Once Will and Sienna had passed her, she proceeded to follow them all. Will looked at her with a hint of frustration in his eyes as she stepped dangerously close to him and Sienna. Will let go of his sister's hand in order to adjust the position of his glasses on his head. When he had completed this action, Sienna lifted her hand in the air in order to take hold of his but he coldly brushed her hand away and moved both his hands into his pockets. Noticing this movement, Cameron awkwardly cut in.

"There's more of you than we expected," Cameron joked, with a big, friendly grin on her face.

"Yeah," Sienna nodded her head, as she averted her attention from her brother. "There's more of us on the way."

"Is that so?" Cameron grinned, as Sienna nodded before going quiet and making things awkward again. "So, whose who?"

"I'm William," Will said, without looking at her, as he carefully took steps to avoid any mud on the ground. "She's Sienna, the baldy over there is my dad Dirk, the orange guy's my big brother Dodge and the ginger woman is Martha."

"That's my dad walking over there on his own," Sienna mumbled, pulling her hand into her pocket. "That girl there is my sister Liberty, her man is Alex, and we're waiting for Lacey and Tom to get here. Lacey is Martha's daughter."

"Oh," Cameron frowned. "That's a big family. Where's your mother?"

"She's dead," Will cut in. "Suicide."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Cameron shook her head. "What about yours?"

"She drowned in the bath a few months ago," Will answered for Sienna, pulling his hand out his pocket to scratch his nose. "Suicide."

"That's a shame," Cameron awkwardly sighed, before noticing the ring on Will's left hand. "Are you two married then?"

"No!" Sienna snorted, as she raised her left hand to show her lack of a ring. "Will's my brother too."

"But..."

"We have different fathers," Will grinned, unable to hold in the humour. "Mine and Lib's dad is Dirk, Patrick is her and Dodge's dad."

"As if I'd marry Will," Sienna cringed. "I'd rather marry Mark."

"Whose this Mark fella?" Cameron winked.

"Dodger," he sighed.

"Wait, what?" Cameron paused, as Sienna shook her head and began to walk faster.

**Dance Macabre**

"For fuck's sake," Fraser shouted as Grace entered the room.

"What is it, Dad?" Grace asked, standing still in case she was the cause of the problem.

"That fucking bitch killed my daughter and she's still walking around with blood on her hands and a credit card filled with five hundred thousand pounds worth of money she owes me."

"Mercedes is Trevor's business, remember?"

"Yeah," Fraser shouted, swiping a tray of glasses off the bar. "And Trevor's done so great, hasn't he? I warned him that if he touches you again, I'd fucking blow his brains in, and that he has to get that money off Mercedes for me or I'd bury him in a ditch somewhere halfway down to fucking Manchester. Now look where he is. In a fucking cell."

"Don't be stupid," Grace shook her head as she prepared to turn around before halting. "Wait, what did you say?"

"Money from Mercedes, or Manchester," Fraser huffed.

"If he touches me again?" Grace faced her father again. "You knew?"

"Of course I knew," Fraser shouted, stuck on his own words. "CCTV cameras; you can even fucking read it on your face."

"So you knew how much I loved him and you still sent him to get Mercedes, knowing full well that I'd see it," Grace screamed. "So you're why he's in prison?"

"Oh, come on, darling," Fraser stretched his arms. "I did it for you!"

"Oh my," she walked out the door. "There was me thinking he was playing me but all along it was you."

"Grace!" he shouted.

"Hello there," Freddie grinned at Grace as he bumped into her, but she rudely pushed past him and hurried down the stairs. "Watch it, love."

"What do you want?" Fraser demanded, hurrying towards the table and snatching his phone. "Where's my car?"

"It's parked outside Sinead's flat," Freddie said before approaching him. "Listen, I'm looking for a job."

"Now's not the time."

Fraser paused.

"Wait, yes it most definitely is," he hurried back to the bar and leant over it, before taking out a parcel. "For fifty quid, would you hold onto this for me, for a sec. Some bloke, a mate of mine actually, needs it but he's popped out somewhere or another and I don't want it lying around here doing nothing. He won't be back 'til the end of the week so you need to deliver it for me."

"What's in it?" Freddie asked, as he inspected the parcel in Fraser's hands.

"Never you mind," Fraser warned him, as he lifted the cuboid-shaped parcel. "I don't have a clue, to be honest. But I need it to get to him and I don't want the package unsealed or else he's gonna come after me. And we don't want that."

Freddie feared how serious Fraser sounded, as if he was in a lot of trouble, but, not wanting to be treading in deep water, he decided against saying anything. Besides, Fraser showed off a joking smile following the end of his speech which just about convinced him that his mother's man was just joking. But at the same time, he knew that whatever in the parcel was not for his eyes. Seeing an opportunity, Freddie quickly cut in.

"Look," Freddie took the parcel. "This sounds dangerous. Unless I can see what's in there, fifty won't cut it."

"Seventy-five then, you greedy boy," Fraser shrugged, before looking at his watch. "I've got to get a move on, Freddie, but take it or leave it. This is twenty-five times more than you'd get an hour on minimum wage and just to drive a couple hours."

"Where is it?" Freddie smiled.

"The address is on this card," Fraser said, handing Freddie a card before heading to the door. "Don't be long, Freddie. You're mother's making a beef bourguignon tonight and if you're not there, she'll kill you. She wants to say sorry, she should have called by now."

"No," Freddie said, as both their phones rang in unison. "Oh look, speak of the devil."

"See ya, Freddie," Fraser left the room and slammed the door behind him, before answering the phone. "Listen, I've already arranged for your target to get there as soon as possible. I want you to follow their every move and report to me everything they do, without fail. Don't let me down, do you understand?"

"_Yes, boss_."

"Good."

**Dance Macabre**

In the upcoming chapters, I can promise you much more Maxine and Dodger content, some Brendan, Trevor and Warren feud scenes and an exchange of dark secrets which lead to both Sienna and Will startled by the other's dark lives. Also, one unlucky resident ends up having three women fighting over him. Remember, I take your suggestions and I use them if they are interesting or relevant, so please, R&R!


	8. This Night Never Happened

**Dance Macabre**

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the reviews, I started writing this very early this morning. It's Christmas Eve and 1:54 am, so forgive me if the writing seems tired. Because I am. I just really wanted to write another chapter.

**Dance Macabre  
Chapter VIII. This Night Never Happened**

"Hello!" he called up the stairs as he entered the room. "Is anybody home?"

"Darren," Frankie whispered, leaning up against the bar from her stool. "Come here and be quiet."

Darren peered up the stairs before standing still for a few seconds and thinking about whether or not he should give his stepmother a lengthy apology following his outburst that morning. Frankie was wearing a very suggestive leopard-print dress and was completely done up in make up despite it being somewhat close to three in the morning. Darren slowly dragged himself towards her and stood beside her as she took a sip of whatever was in her glass. Placing down the glass, she turned her head to face him and then smiled.

"You can't see what's right in front of you, can you?" Frankie asked, her words slightly slurred. "Sit down, son."

Darren paused as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as if she needed to get her thoughts straight. It was hardly surprising considering she looked as if she had had quite a few drinks. Frankie cautiously opened her eyes and then watched him sit down on one of the stools before pointing a single finger at him and then grinning. Darren frowned slightly, confused by his stepmother, before reaching out and prying the glass from her hand and moving it to the side.

"How many have you had?" Darren demanded, lifting the couple to smell it. "This is strong. Have you put anything in it?"

"Shut up, Darren," Frankie leaned towards him and poked his arm. "You can't tell me what to do. I just went all the way to London today to visit my dear son Jake. Guess what he said to me? He told me to go and fuck myself. Yeah! The cheek !"

"Frankie," Darren intervened, as she straightened herself up.

"I slapped him right across the face, you know," she nodded, as if proud of herself. "It was right on the cheek, it knocked him aside. But then I saw this woman come out of his room with what looked like a tea-towel wrapped around her waste. Barely even fit her. And I thought that it reminded me so much of what I looked like when I was your age."

"Frankie," Darren tried to cut in once more.

"If I was young again, would you knock me up?" she asked, bursting into tears and reaching out for the glass in front of him.

"Of course," he comforted her, before pulling the glass away from her. "You're beautiful."

"You men are all the same," she snarled, trying to grab the glass. "All you ever want is sex. Even that brother of yours kept trying to get into my knickers - though I wouldn't mind a go around the Roscoe merry-go-round, would you?"

"You are so drunk."

"No, I'm not," she giggled, wiping the tears away from her face. "Jack doesn't want me. Jake doesn't want me. Nobody wants me, do they? Who am I even here for, huh? I don't want to hang around here lying to everyone's faces and just being a complete nuisance."

"If it's about what I said yesterday," Darren sighed, "Then I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

"No, but you did," she whispered, leaning towards him again. "I'm a terrible person. I don't deserve your dad."

"What are you talking about?"

"I did something awful," she sobbed in his shoulder, before looking up at him.

Darren saw her moving towards him and by the time he realised what she was doing, it was too late. He felt her left hand reach for his belt while her right hand caressed his leg. She kissed him hard, pressing against his lips, and trying to find a way to pry her tongue into his mouth. Darren, startled by the kiss, put no thought into it as he quickly got up and lifted Frankie up into the air, carrying her towards the double doors of the pub. Both their hands moved rapidly as they battled for control of the passionate clench. Barging the doors open, he moved her towards his father's car and quickly pulled out his keys. He unlocked the car doors without stopping himself forcing his tongue into her mouth. Frankie quickly let herself stand up, parting herself from him, and wiping her mouth as Darren made his way into the back seat. Frankie turned her head and looked up at the upstairs window of the pub before shaking her head and hopping into the car. Darren grabbed her from her side and pulled her towards him, getting a decent grasp of one of her breasts and making her squeal with excitement. Leaning in for another kiss, Frankie began to pull his trousers down and when she had managed that, smiled at him. She then turned around and slammed the car door close, before pouncing on him.

**Dance Macabre**

Dodger crunched into the blackened slice of toast in his hands. Sienna laughed as he did so, gaining Will's attention so he could see the sight of their brother spitting the toast out onto his plate. Cringing, Dodger put the plate on the side and tried to wipe the disgusting taste off the back of his hand.

"You're supposed to toast the bread, not cremate it," Sienna grinned.

"Shut it, you!" Dodger joked, pointing at his sister. "I've seen you cook before and it ain't pretty."

"Oi, I'm a fantastic cook," she said, glaring at Will as he laughed at her. "What? I am!"

"I never said you weren't Sienna," Will teased her.

"Whatever, like you can cook," Sienna scoffed, folding her arms and turning her head playfully.

"You need to try my Sunday roast dinner," he grinned. "It's delicious, isn't it Dodger?"

"Yeah, whatever you say," Dodger smiled, nodding as if he was playing along to a joke.

"I'm being serious," Will growled, as he turned to Sienna, who was nearly crying in laughter. "Ask Dad!"

"Okay, take it easy," Dodger sighed, turning to his plate. "Oh, look who it is!"

Maxine entered the room and moved straight to Dodger, hugging him tightly. Cameron also quickly found her way into the large room, carrying a plate with bacon, fried eggs, sausages, beans and two triangular slices of toast placed in a nice pattern.

"How did you guys sleep then?" Cameron grinned, finding a seat beside Dodger and Maxine.

"Good, thanks," Dodger smiled.

Dodger's eyes were fixed in her direction, which didn't go unnoticed to anybody in the room. Maxine opened her mouth slightly, surprised to see him staring in the direction of another girl while she was sat right between them. Sienna frowned, also annoyed, while Will smirked a little to see the tension building as Cameron dug her fork into her bacon. Cutting one of the bacon slices in half and then moving it into her mouth with her fork, Cameron looked up to see everyone's eyes on her. The juice from the bacon ran down the side of her mouth as she chewed on the bacon slowly, until she stopped chewing completely and attempted to wipe the juice away. This was a failed attempt, however, as she spread the liquid across her chin.

"What?" she asked as Dodger looked lustfully towards her.

"What are you staring at?" Maxine demanded, before realising that Dodger's eyes were following Cameron's fork.

"Nothing," Dodger shook his head, as Cameron leaned forwards with her plate.

"You want a bit?" she grinned, holding her plate over Maxine's lap.

"I would love a bit," Dodger smiled, lifting up one of the slices of toast and lifting some bacon, egg and beans onto the slice, folding it and moving it towards his mouth.

Cameron smirked as Dodger chewed on his sandwich, before moving her hands away from him and digging the fork into a sausage. Dodger, although he was unable to speak, made noises suggesting he was delighted by what he can taste. Just as Cameron was about to take a bite into her sausage, Dodger leaned over and grabbed it off the fork. Cameron bit into the end of the sausage as he plied it away from her mouth and quickly put it in his own mouth, with a huge grin on his face.

"Hmm," he chewed, as Cameron laughed at him. "I am so hungry! Thanks."

"Any time," Cameron winked at him, before focusing back on her food. "So, are you guys the only ones up?"

"No, my dad's in the shower," Sienna muttered, watching Maxine's disgruntled face intently.

"Oh, cool," she smiled. "I didn't get a chance to meet him properly, he was too busy on the phone all night."

Patrick entered the room, holding his mobile to his ear, dressed in his usual outfit, his suit, except he wasn't wearing his tie this time.

"I hope you don't bother me again," Patrick said down the line. "I told you specifically not to just get some kid to do it, how would it look on me?"

"See," Cameron threw her hands in the air as if to make a point.

"I really need it today," he said quietly down the line. "I can't do anything until you get it to me. Don't call me again today unless its to tell me that you've actually got someone who I can trust won't get me into any deep trouble."

"Dad?" Sienna looked up. "Are you okay?"

"Alright, great," Patrick said to the phone, nodding at Sienna. "I'll speak to you when I get back okay? Thank you."

"Who was it?" she asked as her dad slipped his phone into her pocket.

"None of your business," Patrick said, moving towards one of the chairs at the table. "If you really want to know so bad, it was one of the parents of one of my students. They wanted their daughter to take over the school's charity event on Friday because I'm absent then, but as I haven't seen the papers, I just can't afford to do that or I could get into trouble with the school's board. There's an insight on my life, Sienna. Do you have anything even slightly interesting which you would like to delight in wasting my time, as well as that of the others? No, I thought not."

"Alright, Paddy," Maxine scolded him. "Chill out, will you? She was only worried."

"Well it's none of her damned business, nor yours," Patrick raised his voice. "And I don't need someone like _you _to tell _me_ how to raise my own daughter. Do you understand me?"

"Alright Captain Paddy-Pants," Maxine sighed, as Dodger, Cameron and Will broke into laughter in unison.

Patrick stood awkwardly as everyone began to laugh at him, with Will even repeating what Maxine said. Patrick furiously span around and marched out of the room, as only Maxine and Sienna understood the full extent of Patrick's anger. Sienna glanced in Maxine's direction to see her apologetic face.

"Patrick, I'm sorry."

**Dance Macabre**

"Thanks, Jim," Grace smiled as he nodded and prepared to depart the room, biting his bagel.

"Yeah, any time, love," he said with a mouth full of bread and salmon, heading down the stairs.

"You can get out of here too," Grace glared at Mercedes, who was lying down on the sofa checking her nails.

"Nah, I ain't moving nowhere," Mercedes said smugly. "This is a club, ain't it? Aren't you meant to be keeping watch 'case anyone tries to break in here again?"

"What are you talking about?" Grace demanded, irritated, as she headed towards her.

"After t'show you pulled last week, I'da thought that you wanted nowt to do with this place," Mercedes chuckled, slipping off her high heels. "Cops were swarming all over this place. You shoulda saw the look on poor Trevor's face as they cornered him in toilets."

"Don't you get bored of this?" Grace asked, as her phone buzzed.

"Nah, not really," Mercedes smirked, lifting her arms into the air. "You know, back before he pointed a gun at me head, he did mention that he once loved some boring as hell slapper who looked like a bulldog but ditched her for me, cos I'm glamorous."

"Watch it," she scoffed.

"No, I mean it," she sat up and slyly smirked at her. "The way his hands were all over me body, I woulda thought he was desperate. I mean, I guess his last girl just didn't quite match me. T'sa shame he's in a cell rather than in me, ain't it?"

"Just get out," Grace ordered, in a slightly high pitch.

"I'm leaving anyway," Mercedes shrugged, standing up and heading towards the stairs. "Thanks for t'catch up, babe. We've got to do it again some time."

Mercedes smiled as she walked away, pleased with herself.

**Dance Macabre**

Completely coated in a layer of hot sweat, Frankie found herself lying next to Darren in the back of her husband's car. She widened her eyes in shock as she saw Darren lying still beneath her. Getting up slowly, she realised that both her and Darren were lying there completely naked and that there was a sticky substance drying onto the skin on her abdomen. She tried to get up quietly, picking up all items of clothing she could find easily, and then tried to clamber into the front seat of the car. As she squeezed a leg between the seat of the cars, she felt a hand clasp onto her thigh. Darren looked up at her and stared at her for a few seconds before quickly jumping up and covering himself with his clothes.

"Oh God," Darren covered his mouth.

"Seriously, not a word of this gets to Jack," she demanded, quickly throwing on her leopard-print dress. "Oh, I'm such a..."

"I can't believe we did this," Darren groaned, as he threw on his boxers and then trousers. "Sienna's gonna kill me."

"No, she won't," Frankie gave him a sharp look. "Because Sienna's not going to find out. Nobody needs to know anything, do you understand me?"

"What's the time?" Darren panicked, throwing on his shirt.

"Ten past twelve," Frankie gasped, as she looked back at him. "We've been lying in here for nine hours. Fuck! What if somebody's seen us already."

"Damn it," Darren opened his door and got out as Frankie did the same in the front. "Listen..."

"No, you listen," Frankie said, closing her door. "I'm going to head back into the pub, alright? I'll pretend I got drunk and went to a mate's and you say you crashed here in the car. At least that way, if someone saw us in here, you could say it was someone else. But don't mention the girl unless they ask."

"Alright."

"This night never happened," Frankie warned him, walking away from the car towards the pub.

"Too right," he replied, locking the car with the key and then limping in the opposite direction.

**Dance Macabre**

This was a tough chapter to write.. I stopped writing at 4:08 am and had to wander away from the computer twice just to sit down for a while and think of something else. I actually rewrote the begin of this chapter just to fit in the Darren/Frankie part and I don't know how that went down with you guys. Please R&R and tell me what you thought.

The drama's going to kick in soon.


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